Providence Local News

Cousin of ex-Patriot Hernandez pleads not guilty

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — A cousin of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to a conspiracy charge.

Tanya Singleton was held without bail after entering her plea Monday to a charge of conspiracy to commit accessory after the fact. Prosecutors say that in the days after the June killing of Hernandez's friend Odin Lloyd, she helped a Hernandez friend flee to Florida.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty in Lloyd's shooting death. The friend who fled to Florida is also charged in the death.

The 37-year-old Singleton was already being held for criminal contempt after allegedly refusing to testify before the grand jury hearing evidence in Hernandez's case.